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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Which Historical Event Would You Write a Song About?

Let me say this again: James Keelaghan is the best storytelling songwriter working today. Not only is he adept at creating stories out of whole cloth but he has a special talent for writing song based on history, and those are some of the best stories of all. His subjects have ranged from tragic forest fires to heroic rescues, from telling the story of sailors trapped on a sinking ship to the story of a Japanese women interned during WWII.

His appearance Live at Noon this Friday got me thinking about what historic event I might right about if I were a songwriter. Let me see....

The "Little Ships" of Dunkirk? No, James wrote The Fires of Calais almost 25 years ago.

The Halifax Explosion? David Stone has done an album of songs on that. (Her Own War)

The seizure of NativeReservationLand to build Kinzua Dam - Peter LeFarge got there first. (As Long as the Grass Shall Grow)

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As a public service of UMass Boston, WUMB Radio is dedicated to produce, acquire, and disseminate high quality, diverse and valued public service radio programming to significant audiences. The radio station is committed to serving as a local and national resource for the cultivation, promotion and preservation of various genres of folk music through its radio programming and selected enterprises